


Baby Steps

by wannaoned



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: A very subtle panwink and ongniel, M/M, minhwan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2018-12-11 00:24:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11702928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wannaoned/pseuds/wannaoned
Summary: That was close, I thought. He was still in his sleep as I felt his breath on my face. But we were this close – his face on mine was this close. I felt a sudden pound in my chest as I thought I would have actually kissed him accidentally. What am I even thinking?





	1. First Step

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written a fic for such a long time-- so forgive me for grammar errors and stuff.  
> Possible ooc?? But I tried to stick to their character as possible  
> Also posted this @ asianfanfics

I woke up from a long nap and I’d never felt as dizzy as this before. I tried to search for my phone beside me and as I finally got a hold of it I pressed it immediately to check the time. My eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness as I scratched my head to fully grasp what was happening. 01:32. _Ah I slept for around 3 hours again_ , I thought. Recently our schedule was fully booked so I couldn’t get enough sleep, and as soon as I got back at the dorm earlier, I took a nap. To which it was supposed to be just an hour nap. I was planning to clean our room – Jaehwan’s stuff was all over the place. My good lord, this kid – _sighs_.

As soon as I was fully awake to stand, I went to the kitchen to search for food in the fridge. Hmm… donuts? _Seriously who keeps buying donuts?_ I whispered to myself. It never ran out of donuts ever since we moved to this dorm, and I’d never seen anyone carry box of donuts either. It was a kind of mystery.

I gave up in trying to find food in the fridge after seeing too many sweets – not in the mood for those stuff. I reached out for the cabinet to grab a pack of ramyeon. Honestly, I’d always eat ramyeon around this time. As I prepared for the ingredients – egg, cheese, hmm… What else, celery? I heard the door opened. I wondered who it was. Jihoon, Guan Lin, Ong and Daniel, and as well as Jaehwan were out. Our room was empty when I arrived and found Woojin crashed Daehwi, Jinyoung and Sungwoon-hyung’s room. He was probably scared sleeping alone, that was cute.

“Ah Minhyun-hyung?” It was Jaehwan, covered in sweat as he put down his guitar case beside the table. “You’re still up?” He asked as he tried to catch his breath.

“Yeah,” I replied. “Got hungry, I actually just woke up from a nap. The recording finished this late?”

“Ah, no.” He said as he approached me. “Ramyeon?”

“Then why this late?” Did I sound like a mom now? “Yup, want too?”

“Ah yes please,” Jaehwan said as he reached for another pack in the cabinet and held it out to me. “I went to the training room right after. I practiced for a while and I didn’t notice it was this late.”

“Practice for?” I asked as I opened another pack of ramyeon. “Anyways, just rest for a while then change. You’re full of sweat.”

“There’s this part in _Wanna be_ ’s choreo that I couldn’t get. Then practiced singing after.” He chuckled a bit to hide his embarrassment and started to walk towards the room. “Anyways, I’ll be in the room for a while, hyung. Thanks.”His shallow dimple on his left cheek was apparent as I replied a smile and a nod.

* * *

I went back in the room to check Jaehwan to inform him that the ramyeon was ready. But as soon as I entered the room, I found him on his bed, eyes closed and breathing steadily.

“He fell asleep…” I whispered as I moved towards the sleeping Jaehwan and softly tapped his shoulders hoping to wake him up. “Jaehwan?”

It didn’t affect him at all. I sighed – I was really not planning to wake him up till I noticed how wet his shirt was from sweat. _This is no good,_ I thought.

“Jaehwan…?” I tapped his shoulders once again, but with force this time. “Wake up, at least change your shirt.” He shifted his body on the opposite side of the bed, still in his sleep. “Yah, you’re gonna get sick, come on.”

I sighed and my god this kid. _How could he sleep with his shirt this wet?_ I thought. But I kind of understood that he was having a hard time recently. He had been putting so much effort in dance and especially with the all the work we had been doing to prepare for our promotions. I just wished he knew how to take care of himself, at least his body and health. I had learned to adjust to his mess already. It honestly took a lot of effort to adjust – I scratched my head remembering those things.

“Yah, Jaehwan come on.” Still no response, I sighed once again. “ Okay, okay. I see you’re not waking up.”

I opened his cabinet to grab a new shirt – oh god how could his cabinet be this messy as well.

“My god Jaehwan, learn to take care of yourself.” I whispered as I reached for his arm, pulling his wet shirt out of his body. “And stop yourself from too much diet. Look at you, I can see your collar bones already.” I scoffed as I jokingly said but at the same time, hoping he would hear this and noted what I was saying.

I grabbed a small towel from my stuff. I gave up in Jaehwan’s cabinet, seriously. As I held his shoulders, I slowly shifted to his back then wiped his sweat. Being in this industry for more than 7 years, this was nothing me. Actually, it felt like I was also part of the moms (with Jisung-hyung) of the group. And to be honest, rather than saying it was a hassle, I had enjoyed taking care of the kids – including Jaehwan but not his mess. Honestly, was he in the hyung line? For god sake I would think he was _even_ younger than Guanlin.

“Done,” I sighed out of relief. “God, Jaehwan you’re like a kid.” I laughed a little as I patted his head. _Good night._

I was about to go back to the kitchen to finally eat my ramyeon but when I was about to stand, I felt Jaehwan’s arms wrapped around my neck. “Wha–“ His actions made me fell on top of him but I was able to support myself a bit using my elbows to not fully crash my face on him.

 _That was close_ , I thought. He was still in his sleep as I felt his breath on my face. But we were this close – his face on mine was _this_ close. I felt a sudden pound in my chest as I thought of accidently kissing him if I wouldn’t have supported myself. _What am I even thinking?_

“Minhyunnie hyung…” I heard him mumbled my name. His eyes were still closed – voice so sweet, so soft. I looked down at his lips, slowly moving as it formed the shape of my name. _Minhyunnie-hyung…_

One second after I found my lips on his, my hands brushing his wet hair from his face, the smell of his sweat somehow affected me in some _ways_. I joined him in bed, matched his breathing as I drew myself closer into his side. My arms wrapped him and pulled him closer into my chest as if it was the most natural thing I did, yet it felt so new at the same time. _What the hell is wrong with me?_


	2. I'm here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the members made their appearance!  
> Notice that there are changes in pov
> 
> Thank you guys for reading :)

[ _Jaehwan's POV_ ]

There was a loud voice when I woke up and it was probably coming from the kitchen.

“Breakfast everyone!” The voice was familiar. It was definitely from my favorite maknae – Daehwi.

“I’ll wake up Jaehwan-hyung.” I heard Woojin said as his footsteps coming closer towards our room. Woojin’s face popped out from the door and I turned to look at him. “Jae– Oh hyung! You’re already awake.” I nodded lazily and he said that I should come out now for breakfast.

As I followed Woojin to the kitchen, I saw everyone already sitting ready to dig the first meal of the day. I sat next to Minhyun-hyung, which was the only empty seat I could sit.

“Your head Jaehwannie,” he laughed a little and patted my head at the same time to fix my bed hair.

“Seriously, you guys… Even in the early morning!” Sungwoo-hyung retorted and continued, “Last night you both–“

Minhyun-hyung and I looked blankly at him as Daniel covered his mouth. He kept resisting trying to mumble the rest of the sentence. Was there something we weren’t supposed to hear? Anyway…

“Ah hyung, pass me the rice.” I said to Minhyun-hyung but instead of passing, he served it directly on my plate. He giggled as if he was teasing me.

“Eat a lot okay~” He was definitely teasing me… He served me a lot of rice – a _lot_ more than I usually managed to get.

“Ah, hyung~” I complained and let out a small laugh. Seriously I didn’t understand why Minhyun-hyung could be a tease sometimes.

I admitted that I was the one who kept teasing him, like I always tried to annoy him. So I could understand if sometimes he wanted to do some payback. I got it hyung… I got it.

“My goodness these two,” Sungwoo-hyung said once again, and somehow Daniel, Jisung-hyung, Jihoon and Guanlin turned to look at him… in a very weird… way?

“Ah,” I suddenly noticed my shirt. Was I wearing this shirt last night? “Minhyun-hyung,” he probably knew the reason why so I called him and asked. “Did you change my shirt last night?”

“Oh yup I did,” he replied as everyone now turned their faces to us.

“What…” we asked in unison and our eyes landed on Jihoon. He shook his head few times then glanced at Guanlin.

“You sweat so hard last night, right? Your shirt was really wet.”  Minhyun-hyung said as he turned to me and I agreed, “you will get sick if you sleep like that, so I had to change it.”

“ _Sweat_?!” Jihoon gasped and Guanlin almost choked.

“Omo!” Sungwoo-hyung and Jisung-hyung reacted in a very high-pitched voice and with an exaggerated expression.

“Wha– what?” I asked. Minhyun-hyung and I were both confused. What exactly was happening??

“No– nothing!” Daniel quickly replied. He hit the two on their shoulders and they both winced. “Come on guys, we still have schedule at ten.”

“Oh by the way guys,” Minhyun-hyung called, catching our attention “What time did you get home? From what I know the manager told me that the recording should be done around 11pm. But it was already 1am and Jaehwan was the only one who went home.” He asked the five members who were out last night – Jisung-hyung, Daniel, Sungwoo-hyung, Guanlin and Jihoon.

“Ah!” Guanlin looked a bit surprised. “My dad and my sis came over for a vacation here in Korea.” He followed up and Jihoon nodded, as well as the three.  “We went to the airport to pick them up and we went straight to the hotel.”

“Me, Ong and Daniel got home around 2am. Guanlin decided to stay with his dad and Jihoon stayed with him.” Jisung-hyung explained, “right?”

“Ye– yeah hyung!” Guanlin responded and the four of them motioned in agreement.

“Oh I see,” Minhyun-hyung accepted the explanation then he finally got back to his food.

 “Ah right,” Jisung-hyung uttered. “The manager told me earlier that there will be a follow up schedule after the recording. But it will be just at the company to record like a bit of promotional video. Then we can go home after that he said.”

“Arghhhh… I want another day off,” Jinyoung claimed with his mouth full and took another bite from his spoon.

“Same…” Daehwi sighed, “I wanna play games.”

“Me too…” Sungwoon-hyung added. Apparently, he really liked to play with the maknaes.

“Let’s play later,” Guanlin suggested casually. “Can I drop at your room later, Sungwoon-hyung?”

“No no!” Jisung-hyung retorted even before Sungwoon-hyung could reply. “You guys should sleep early! We have a schedule the next day. You’ll end up complaining again if you don’t get enough rest.”

“Jisung- mom you’re no fun~” Daniel teased in a very cute way. Jisung-hyung just rolled his eyes and continued to eat the rest of his food.

“Come on, hurry up kids,” Jisung-hyung reminded them again. “We should be ready before nine.”

* * *

After taking a shower, I went straight to our room to change then I heard Minhyun-hyung called my name. “Did you get enough sleep last night?”

“Ah, yes hyung,” I replied. “Sorry I ended up sleeping. The ramyeon…”

“Don’t worry about that,” he approached me and patted my head. I just smiled and honestly, why did I feel a bit awkward? “Sorry as well, I fell asleep with you. You might have found it hard to move last night because I was there.” He exhaled before he continued, “and about the ki–”

“Oh you did, hyung?” He was still saying something when I tried to clarify. I wished I let him finished first, but I wasn’t really aware he was with me last night?

“Y– you did not remember?” His eyes went wider and I paused to think for a while as I wore my shirt.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I fell asleep right after and I woke up at Daehwi’s voice calling for breakfast. I was wondering why I was wearing that shirt earlier so I asked you.”

“I see,” he replied. Was it just me or his expression kinda changed? He scratched his head and just laughed. “Anyways, you should not do that again okay? Take care of yourself. And if you’re really that tired just tell me. Maybe I could help you or something.”

“Thanks hyung.” I smiled. “But seriously, you already helped me with a lot of things. I just can’t rely everything on you, hyung.” I looked down as I said. During my hard times and my best times, he was there with me and I couldn’t thank him enough for all the things he did. I wanted to repay his kindness and I wanted him to rely on me as well.

“Jaehwan,” he said softly. “You can tell everything to me, got it?” He touched my cheek to lift my head so he could look straight to my eye. It was sincere – that pair of hands was warm and familiar. I just nodded and tried not to say anything more. He smiled in return and went back to his bed to start packing his things for today. But I wondered, what was the thing he tried to say earlier? Was there something I supposed to remember?  

 

* * *

**2:35am – Jisung/Daniel/Ong’s Room**

“Seriously!!” Jisung shouted as soon as he entered their room. Ong and Daniel sat beside him and their visitors, Guanlin and Jihoon sat on Daniel’s bed opposite them. “What’s up with that two?”

“Keep quiet hyung...” Guanlin reminded Jisung as he sighed.

“Hey Jihoon,” Ong called him. “Did you get a good picture?”

“Yes hyung,” he reached out on his pocket to get his phone. He felt very proud as he showed the photo to the three hyungs and they all nodded at the same time.

“There’s _no way_ that this is just a hug,” Jisung pointed out and they all agreed. “Look! He was cuddling Jaehwan so tight, oh my god.” He quickly zoomed the image for a clearer view. “Minhyun’s face! Here! It was on Jaehwan’s neck!! Jesus! Were they kissing!!? Did they just – ”

“Jisung-hyung stop!” Jihoon said as he put his phone back to his pocket, clearly embarrassed as his head involuntarily imagined things the oldest mentioned. “Guanlin, is still a minor…”

“We shouldn’t let Guanlin see them doing stuff like that,” Ong protested.

“Hyung, it’s okay.” Guanlin replied. He probably was the calmest person in the room. “I understand things about love.”

“What??” Jihoon looked at him, clearly judging him.

“Nah, I mean yeah.” Guanlin cleared, “I do understand.”

“You should go to church Guanlin,” Ong suggested and they all laughed at his remark. Especially Daniel, who just kept laughing for the whole time.

“But yeah,” Daniel finally said. “Both of them were together ever since the first stage of Produce. I understand that they probably develop feelings for each other. They never got separated, it was like fate. They are like...” He paused and tried to cover his face by fixing his bangs. He knew that the next word that would come out from his mouth was something very cheesy. “ _Destined_ to be together…”

“I don’t know if I should feel gross or not at your dialog just now Daniel.” Jisung added, “that was like… from a shoujo manga.”

“Anyways,” Ong clapped his hands twice to get the attention of the four. “Remember, Jihoon and Guanlin.” He reminded the two youngsters. “Do not let them know we saw them okay? Just keep quiet about it. Pretend nothing happened and you guys should sleep here for now. If one of them wakes up and find you two in your room, they will for sure get cautious.”

“And what if they ask? Like Minhyun-hyung, he cared so much for such details like this? He will for sure ask us tomorrow why we didn’t go home after our schedule.” Jihoon looked a bit worried as Ong was now thinking for a good and solid excuse of the two.

“Just tell them you both stayed with Guanlin’s dad at the hotel!” Ong suggested. “At least the picking-them-up-at-the-airport wasn’t a lie.”

“Okay got it,” Guanlin and Jihoon nodded at the same time, nervous yet they knew that the three hyungs got their back.

“For now, both of you will stay here in our room. I’ll make sure to be the first one to wake up in the early morning since it’s also my task to prepare for breakfast.” Jisung told the two and they all sighed as to what mess they got into. They all knew that they shouldn’t butt into someone’s relationship but they couldn’t help but to get curious. They were all groupmates after all.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thank you for reading my story  
> i apologize for grammar mistake and etc

[ _Minhyun's POV_ ]

This day, we had a schedule as usual. We had to record for a variety show for our album promotions as well. While on the way to the location, Jaehwan was beside me taking a nap on his seat. I tried calling him to check his condition. "Jaehwan ah?"  
  
He slowly opened his eyes and pulled himself from leaning then he turned to me. "Why hyung?"

"Are you alright? Did you take enough rest last night?"  
  
"Kind of."  
  
I studied his face for a moment, particularly those bags under his eyes. "Really?"  
  
He looked at me for before he touched his temples. "I- I couldn't sleep to be honest."  
  
"Why?" I asked him then he sighed. I realized he was so tired at that time so I had to back out for once. "Okay, I got it. I'll talk to you later about it. For now just take a nap, that will help. I'll wake you up as soon as we reach the studio."  
  
"Thanks, hyung." He replied and I patted his head.  
  
I stared at him for a while as I thought of how fragile he looked. He was doing his best recently and I could feel his body wasn't that strong to handle too much stress. While these thoughts ran through my head, I somehow could feel a strong presence staring at me. I looked in front and saw Jihoon's gaze in my direction. We made an eye contact before he averted his eyes and pretended to just looking around the car.  
  
I examined him for a second and saw him tapped Guanlin's shoulder to whisper something. Guanlin's face abruptly changed and for some reason, he turned to look at me as well. He noticed that I was aware of what he did so he turned back immediately to Jihoon and they kept on murmuring with each other. Did I do something wrong with them?  
  
The recording finished safely then had a closing greeting with the production team. It was so weird at this moment because I couldn't see Jaehwan and I kept on wondering where he was. It would be so rude if I suddenly walked out when someone was still talking so I waited and approached our manager right after the director finished his closing greeting. I asked him if he knew where Jaehwan was and he told me that he passed out after the recording and was at the clinic downstairs taking a rest. I was taken aback by the news and rushed quickly to the clinic. _Why I didn't notice?_ I thought while I ran through the hallway towards the clinic. I quickly asked the person in-charged as soon as I reached the room and she pointed me to where Jaehwan was.  
  
"Yah!" I quickly ran towards him, catching my breath as I saw him lying on one of the beds.  
  
"Oh hyung? Why are you here?" He asked with eyes slightly opened. I could feel his fatigue through his voice.  
  
"I should be the one asking you why. You could have told our manager earlier you're not feeling so we could have done something or give you a medicine or what." I explained to him as I sat on the corner of the bed. I didn't care if I sounded too nagging because I really just wanted him to know how worried I was. I grabbed his hands using my one hand and the other went to his head to pat him softly, reassuring that I was just there for him.  
  
I was waiting for him to reason himself but he just laughed at me as he gripped my hand on his. "Are you my mom?" He jokingly asked.  
  
"Sorry for sounding like a mom," I said as we both laughed at each other. "Seriously Jaehwan, stop making me worry every time."

  
"Then stop worrying." Somehow I could feel the flatness in his voice. My face twitched the moment I heard his reply.  
  
"You know I cannot do that."  
  
"Why, hyung?"  
  
' _Why?_ ' This simple one word question kept echoing in my head as I tried to keep my eyes on him. I knew that if I could be honest with myself, the answer to this question would be so easy.  
  
"Because I care about you. You're my precious _friend_ after all."  
  
"I see," He smiled. "Thanks hyung. But I promise I'll be fine." There was something bitter and sad and I could sense it somehow. But what bothered me was the reason behind it, I didn’t why.  
  
"Jaehwan– “  
  
"I guess I'm okay now," he stood up and stretched his body for while then he grabbed his pair of shoes under the bed. "Come on, hyung. They're probably waiting for us."  
  
"Ah, okay." I couldn't say anything more and just followed him as he walked out of the clinic.

* * *

  
  
"Jaehwan ah," he shifted his body to my direction as he fixed himself under the sheets. "Can I stay beside you for a while?"  
  
"Oh sure hyung." He moved a bit to give me space as I helped myself to climb up on his bed.  
  
"Thanks." I joined him under the blanket and had a look on his face. I noticed how red his cheeks were but kept averting his eyes whenever I tried to lock it with mine. I stared at his nape for a moment and saw him got chills while tugging his blanket. I sat up and held his shoulders as I forced him to straighten up his body before he could curl up. There was something fishy and I could feel he was trying to hide something. "Jaehwan ah?" I tried to call him hoping he would talk to me but instead he hid his face under the blanket.

"Let's sleep now hyung, I'm tired." Voice muffled as he hid deeper in his blanket.  
  
"Yah, let me just--" When I finally had my hand on his forehead, I could feel the skin underneath was burning. And it was the definitely a sign of fever. I sighed as soon as I knew what was going on. "I see I see," then I went down straight towards the kitchen. That Jaehwan seriously...

  
"Come on, wake up you need to eat." There was no response from him, but probably he didn't hear me as I tried to keep my voice low as possible to not wake up the sleeping Woojin on the lower bunk bed. "Jaehwan ah," I called him as I shook his shoulders then he lazily groaned in response. "Yah, you haven't eaten anything, have you?" He quickly turned his body to me to say “okay, okay” and nodded few times like a kid.  
  
"I made you porridge, eat this so you'll feel better. I'll prepare your meds." I told him as I gestured him to take a seat. I had the porridge prepared already and a glass of water in front of him and I just needed to get the medicine from the kitchen cabinet.  
  
When I saw him finally took his seat, I held out the medicines and told him to take it after eating. I tapped his shoulders first, to say that I'd be out for a while and he asked me why.  
  
"Just gonna run fast at the convenience store." I told him.  
  
"Isn't it 3am already?" He said as he glanced on the clock near the counter. "What are you going to buy?"  
  
"Just stuff," I had to avoid saying that I'd buy stuff for him. Once he knew it was for him, he'd definitely not going to allow me to go.  
  
"Is it for me?" _Bullseye_ , I thought.  
  
"Just need to get you meds for tomorrow morning. I just checked and we're actually running out of it. It's better to buy right it now than later."  
  
"No, hyung. It's already this late and it's too dangerous. Don’t worry I won’t die from not taking it in the morning.”

"I'll wear mask, don't wo–"  
  
"No," he stood up and grabbed my hand. He just looked at me for a moment and said, "stay here with _me_." Then he pulled me to the next empty seat beside him.  
  
His hand was warm above my wrist and honestly, I couldn't say anything after hearing his words. I just nodded and at this moment, I felt my cheeks flushed. It felt hot as his current temperature. I managed to let out a simple “Okay” as a response before I patted his head while looking at a different direction. I could still feel the heat on my cheeks and I was just hoping he would not see me like this. _God, why am I so weak?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually excited for the next chapter  
> bc are we gonna get see sick jaehwan?  
> I mean he's already sick at this rate but i want to see more minhyun taking care of him :)


	4. Chapter 4

**4:00 AM** / [Jaehwan’s POV]

“Hyung, come on come on.” I gestured him to follow on my bed, leaving some space for him beside me. “You’ll sleep here, okay?” It was definitely not a question, but more like you-have-no-choice kind of thing.

“I got it, hold on.” He replied as he scratched the back of his head. “Let me just get my pillow.” Honestly, seeing him like this was the kind of sight I enjoy. The more he showed his face like that, the more I wanted to tease him.

Just like what happened earlier, to be honest I was not expecting he would blush to what I did and when he did, it just triggered my inner intentions. I wasn’t planning this to be honest, I was too tired and on the top of that I had a fever – I seriously had no energy left for this. But I would also not let this good opportunity to pass. Fortunately, we had no schedule planned later – _thank God_.

As soon as he got to place himself on my bed I put my arms on him and he just looked at me as if waiting for me to speak.

“Don’t worry hyung, I only have a fever so it’s not contagious even if I kiss you,” I kidded and his eyes widened in surprise.

“Wha –“

“I’m just kidding hyung,” I chuckled as I fixed myself under the blanket and faced the wall side of the bed. “Thank you for taking care of me. You even cooked porridge even though you really don’t cook.” I paused for a while and peeked at him a little. He was looking at me right now and we had a short eye contact before I came back to my position. “Ah, but yeah. It was definitely edible and wasn’t that bad so don’t worry.”

I heard him laugh a little before saying, “it was definitely good, admit it.” He reached for my head and ruffled my hair as he moved a little closer. “For now rest, okay? Don’t force yourself. Good night.” He then faced the opposite side before he closed his eyes. I, as a main tease to Emperor Hwang, would not let him sleep before my last move. I shifted my body to face to him and slid my arms on his waist as I hugged him from the back.

“Thank you for today, hyung.” I for sure knew he was still awake at this time when I felt his body jolted. I rested my chin on his shoulders as he nodded in response. “Good night,” I whispered to the back of his ear as I softly sniffed and brushed my nose on it before closing my eyes, and yes he definitely smelled so good.

To be honest, these past few days I’d been so tired because of our schedule and worked too hard just to follow up with others. Everyone had an experience when it comes to dancing and I was the only one left out so I had to make an extra effort. And during this time, my time to tease the emperor had lessened. The last time I did was during Wanna One Go. And it was definitely a good opportunity because I could tease him without him getting angry at all. But it also made my whole year miserable as I was tasked, together with him and The Fools team to keep the dorm clean. I had regretted nothing though, I felt like we got extra closer during that time and I could sense right after that, he became extra worried about me. For example, after and during the recording he would check up on me, asking if I was doing good or what. When we arrived at the dorm, he would let me shower first and after that he would help me in drying my hair. When eating, he would serve me rice first and would even prepare the glass of water afterwards. Before I sleep he would remind me to rest well and the schedule for the next day too. And just recently he even changed my shirt when I accidentally had fallen asleep. To think that he would spoil me to this point, I’d sometimes just give up teasing him and would let him take care of me because  I knew that he’d enjoy it the most.

* * *

Jihoon would wake up as usual, seeing Guanlin still on his bed hiding under the blanket, Woojin also on bed cuddling one of his pillows and the empty bed on the lower bunk. Of course, his Minhyun-hyung would probably be on the kitchen, helping who was assigned for breakfast or just cleaning somewhere. But he sure thought it was odd for a moment when he saw his Jaehwan-hyung with someone on his bed. He gasped in surprise and leaned in to peek for the person’s identity beside his hyung. He had a person in his mind already so when he confirmed that it was the same person, he hurriedly went down from the bunk bed and ran towards Guanlin.

“Hey, hey wake up!” he shook the younger’s shoulder and whispered loud enough for him to wake up. He groaned in response, still trying to adjust his eyes as he opened it slowly. He saw his Jihoon-hyung in pink sweatshirt and pants but he just ignored the usual pajama fashion of the older.

“Hyung, what’s up.” He lazily said but Jihoon’s face was clearly had no chill as he pointed exaggeratedly to his Jaehwan-hyung’s bed. “What? What?” He replied as he sat up, having no idea of what was going on. He tilted his head upwards and he immediately saw Minhyun’s face popped out from the corner of the bed. “Oh my god…”

“Sh-should we wake him up as well?” Jihoon pointed at Woojin. They couldn’t decide whether to wake the sleeping boy up or not because they knew he had no idea of what was going on between the two. They both looked at each other and for the next second, they already knew what to do.

“Woojin! Woojin,” Jihoon called him twice and it was enough for the boy to wake up. He hummed in question as he both saw the two looking at him. “Sorry to wake you up Woojin, but come on. Come with us.” They were a bit sorry for waking him up but they had to. Jihoon gestured him to follow and pointed the two on the upper bunk bed. Woojin just tilted his head before they walked out of their room and ran towards OngNielSung’s room.

\- x -

“Again??!” Jisung exclaimed as they went back to their room. They came to peek at Jaehwan and Minhyun to confirm what was happening with their own eyes. “My goodness, those two.”

“And it seems like they don’t even care if anyone sees them. Like at all!” Ong emphasized. “Good thing you two brought Woojin along with you.”

“Yeah yeah, seeing them like that earlier how do you feel?” Jisung asked, worried about what the younger thought.

“How do I feel, you mean like, what?” Woojin answered his hyung wearing his same casual expression.

“About their relationship!” Ong butted. “Like we don’t really know if they have that kind of relationship because they don’t even bother to tell us but isn’t it soooooo obvious! They are always with each other, we always see them cuddling together and we just didn’t know, they probably already had se–“

Before he could continue, Daniel on his side covered his mouth and reminded him that he should be careful of his words because they had the minors with them.

“Anyways, you see what they were doing earlier right? And it’s not just today, but the other day as well.”

“Ah yeah, but isn’t it just fine?” Everyone looked at him with a question mark on their faces. “If that’s what they want to do, then okay. And also Sungwoon-hyung mentioned about this before.”

“Sungwoon did?” Jisung repeated.

“Yeah, it was last week when I stayed at their room. Sungwoon-hyung mentioned how he noticed the changes between the two. Me, Daehwi and Jinyoung agreed as well.”

“Wait, so you guys know about this already?” Daniel cleared one more time.

“Basically, yes.” Woojin nodded and continued. “Sungwoon-hyung said he saw both on the couch, Minhyun-hyung hugging Jaehwan-hyung and Jaehwan-hyung resting his head on Minhyun-hyung’s shoulders. It would really be weird if nothing’s going on between them.”

Everyone responded in awe, amused to the story they heard for the first time.

“Then one time when I entered the room, they were together at Minhyun-hyung’s bed and Jaehwan-hyung playing guitar beside him.” Woojin added.

“Oh my…” Jisung said. “But when exactly did it happen, I mean, since when they became _this_ close?” He made a pinch gesture to emphasize what he said.

“I don’t know but –“

“Ah!” Jihoon shouted and the rest jumped in surprise.

“Oh my god that surprised me,” Ong commented. “Why why?”

“I remember! I accidentally woke up in the middle of the night that time, probably around two am? And I heard someone was crying. I wasn’t sure because I was still very sleepy, but I think it was Minhyun-hyung. Then probably Jaehwan-hyung was comforting him but I saw him hugging Minhyun-hyung and patting his back.” Everyone had their mouth open and turned to look at each other.

“Well, _that’s new.”_

* * *

[Minhyun’s POV]

I woke up around 8:00 am and saw no one else in our room except me and Jaehwan. I sighed to the fact that the three kids had probably seen us. I thought they would wake up around 9:00am at least because it was our day off, so I planned to wake up an hour before going back to my bed or prepare food outside. It wasn’t really because I didn’t want them to see us, but I was worried that it could cause a lot of misunderstandings.

Jaehwan was still sleeping, with one arm on me and face buried on my neck. He was so soft and unexpectedly smelled so good. And suddenly, _I want to hug him and kiss him_ , I thought.  I shook my head to brush off these thoughts but just by looking at him made my hand moved on its own till it landed on his head, digging through his soft hair. I stared at his eyelashes while I held his hand on my stomach. I gently rubbed my thumb on his beautiful fingers as I slowly moved my gaze to it. This feeling was so fluttering yet – I felt my chest ached but with the pain I was longing for. I took his hand to my lips and placed a soft kiss before I breathed in and _damn_. He was still sleeping when I turned to look at his face to confirm before I glanced on his lips. _Is this going to be the same as to what I did before?_ I thought. The next time I’d kiss him, I told myself that it shouldn’t be stolen anymore – I knew, I knew it already. But the more I had these thoughts, the more I inched myself to close the distance between us. I shut my eyes when I was about to reach his lips – “Minhyun-hyung?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess the taking care part will be on the next chapter?  
> Sorry if it got moved on the next but I really just wanted to have their moment together first :)  
> and I'm hoping that the POVs aren't confusing:(  
> Again thank you guys for reading this fic, all the comments and kudos really made me happy  
> I apologize if i didn't get to reply but anyways thank you so much :)


	5. Chapter 5

[Minhyun’s]

“Minhyun-hyung?” Jihoon called out as soon as he saw me in the kitchen. It was 9am when I finally managed to get out of the bed and had to deal with _this and that_ for the past hour. Still this early, but I already felt the heaviness of my body and I shouldn’t be bothered by it as day offs were meant for a lot of works aka throwing full garbage bags and mopping floors filled with invisible footprints, piled up to be done.

“Porridge?” asked Jihoon who was already approaching, curious of the familiar smell coming from the pot beside me as I served it in a small bowl.

“Yup.” I replied as he tilted his head, “for Jaehwan, he has a fever.”

“Jaehwan-hyung has a fever?” His face suddenly changed and I definitely saw his worry over his hyung. “Oh no, he must be really tired from our non-stop schedule.”

“Yeah, he looked exhausted yesterday after the recording.”

“I heard from the manager he passed out. Never thought he would get a fever. Is he okay now?”

“Yes, he’s actually getting better.” Jihoon softly smile in relief as I took the small bowl on a tray and started moving towards the room where Jaehwan was waiting for his food.

“Tell him to take his time to rest and get well soon!”

I nodded in response and I saw Jihoon smiled before I turned my back to him to finally open the door.

 “Oh hyung?”

“Yup?” I glanced back.

“Did you cook that?”

“Ah…” They all knew I was bad at cooking so I tried hid my embarrassment through a tiny chuckle. “Uhm yeah.”

_Wah… Hyung’s face was so red…_

* * *

 [An hour ago]

“Minhyun-hyun?” The moment he heard his voice, his eyes automatically shut as if seeing darkness would change the whole fact he was caught in a bright day. He also thought to pretend was also part of the defense mechanism when trying to hide something from the other, that he wasn’t coward for faking his sleep and just couldn’t help the human nature. But he never knew or had expected what was the next possible thing to happen, which was to felt something soft had touched his lips for a second and he was sure it was the other’s lips when he confirmed it with his own eyes. “Good Morning, hyung.”

He tried to collect his thoughts from the sudden event that had happened as the younger stretched himself a bit before letting out a big yawn and more waggles under the sheets.

“Jaehwanni –“

He groaned quickly interrupting his hyung from saying something, which he assumed that it was most probably a question. “I _seriously_ thought there was monster beside me trying to eat me. Hyung, if you want a kiss you could’ve told me earlier, I’d give you lots.” He said as he sat up, still feeling groggy but he held Minhyun’s shoulders as he dropped air kisses near his face.

“I get I,I get it.” He followed while shoving him a bit so he could give himself space and to prevent even more _accidents._ His face definitely had heated up from so many reasons (including embarrassment, sudden raise of a heartbeat and awkwardness) but Jaehwan couldn’t care less, or that was what he thought? As soon as he saw his pointed ears painted red, he realized that maybe it was also an unusual thing for the younger even though he was acting as if it was a natural thing to do for a person you considered as a brother. “Ya – “

He cut the older again through a laugh which was obviously a fake one. “I guess I still have a fever. Ah.. it feels hot.”

Clearly, it was also a part of avoiding the approaching topic of whys but he wasn’t lying about the fever. Minhyun was pretty sure Jaehwan was getting better when he confirmed it right after he woke up but still couldn’t help to get flustered and his hand automatically flew over Jaehwan’s forehead to check his current temperature. He was quick to shield the spot and ended up holding his hyung’s hand before putting it down on his lap and for a moment he paused and sighed.

“Hyung.”

 “Hm?”  He softly hummed in question as he pressed his lips together thinking that maybe he was going to finally say something about the kiss. But –

“Food…”

“Oh!”

He was flustered and a bit surprised but he just chuckled and scratched his head from another attack of embarrassment – strike two.

 “You’re hungry?” He just nodded in reply and for his hyung, he seemed like a child who couldn’t do anything without his help. But it was probably a sort of happiness for him, a weird happiness in taking care a 22 year old baby.

 

 

“Listen,” Jihoon, Ong and Jisung now were having a little meeting in OngNielSung’s room aka the adults’ room while Daniel, Guanlin and Woojin stayed at the living room playing Wii. It was right after the short conversation happened between Jihoon and Minhyun in the kitchen and Jihoon was as usual fast in delivering report to his hyungs.

“Minhyun-hyung cooked for Jaehwannie-hyung!” he exclaimed loudly as if the other two weren’t in the same meter as him.

“Too loud pig baby, too loud.” Ong commented for the young boy to watch the volume of his voice as Jisung couldn’t help laughing at what he said.

“I’m not pig!”

“Okay okay, I got it go ahead what was it again?”

“I’m angry!”

“What? I’m hyung!!”

Jisung’s laugh kept on getting worse as he watched the two having a little (non-sense) argument and they were both cute, he thought. “Okay guys, that’s it. Come on, what is it Jihoon again?”

“I was saying Minhyun-hyung cooked for Jaehwan-hyung!” He puffed his cheeks, clearly sulking (but still cute) from the endless tease Ong.

“That I-can’t-cook-Hwang-Geliang cooked?” Ong finally said realizing that the situation.

“So what did he cook?” Jisung followed.

“Porridge.”

“Porridge?” Ong and Jisung asked in unison.

“Yeah, he said it’s for Jaehwannie-hyung because he got a fever… But Minhyun-hyung said he’s getting better.”

“Jaehwan-ah… I hope he’s not pushing himself too much.” Jisung murmured and obviously it made him worry as one of his members was getting sick without him knowing. “But they could have told us about it. Hold on, I’ll go to Minhyun and help – “

“Ah hyung stop there,” Ong uttered quickly to do something for the leader’s triggered mother instinct. “Should we just wait for Minhyun to come to the living room later? Jihoon, he’s in their room now right?”

“Yup, I think he’s going to feed Jaehwan-hyung.”

“Let’s just ask Minhyun later, for now let’s wait and I know that he’s definitely gonna take care Jaehwan well.” Ong suggested and both of them agreed that it was the best for now.

“Okay then… I’m really hoping Jaehwan will get better soon.”

* * *

 

[Minhyun’s]

Even though I looked okay when I was talking with Jihoon, the thing happened with Jaehwan earlier kept on playing inside my head on loop and it was a relief that I had managed to talk to him properly.

 “Jaehwannie,” I tried to wake him up from his short nap as I reached out for his bed and gently tapped his shoulders. “Would you like to move to my bed? It’ll be hard for me to feed you up there.”

He just let out a short groan in response, still obviously sleepy but he was obedient. He scratched his head before going down and said, “food?”

“Yup, come on.”

“What food?”

“Porridge from last night.”

“I see…” When he reached my bed, he quickly pulled the blanket on top of him and layered one more pillow to level his head a bit more which gave him an easier access to stuff food.

“What’s with that ‘ I see,’”  I sat on the corner of my bed as I finally dunked the spoon into the hot soup and said, “Ah.”

He followed and opened his mouth like a little puppy before taking his first bite and I had to fight the urge to cuddle him right away looking at him like that. He took the spoon to his mouth properly without getting messy until he finished everything. It was hard that I had to pretend and act like it was nothing when all I wanted to do was to touch him, feel him and match breathing with him right now on the same bed as if we were riding the same rhythm. But I had to suppress all of these thoughts for the time being and had to still hold on to my hopes that time would come for both of us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO THAT'S CHAPTER 5 
> 
> sorry guys i couldnt update im currently so busy ><


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!! I finally updated!
> 
> it took so so long :( I got really busy with school recently. I'm sorry :(  
> But since I already wrote the chapter 6 here it is!

"Actions do speak louder than words, you know. For now, probably you guys don't know yet or haven't noticed but eventually both of you will. One of you are probably searching for what it really is or one has already noticed and just waiting for a go signal. You worry to take a step forward because your current relationship might fall and you guys are happy the way it is right now. Why don't you guys try to look at it in a bigger perspective? Consider what's waiting beyond and take risks? Are really just going to stay at your comfort zone?"

-

They kissed. They actually did, twice. Minhyun pressed his lips together remembering all of what happened for the past few weeks with him and Jaehwan. He sighed after he clicked his tongue, somewhat annoyed because of himself. _Why can't you be honest Hwang Minhyun? Why?_

Weeks had passed and he felt like there was still no progress at all. They just kissed. So what? 

He just finished his individual shoot for today and while waiting for the other members to finish their turns, he managed to fish his phone out of his pocket. 18:00, said the clock. He scrolled through his contact list till it landed on Kim Jaehwan's name under his thumb, contemplating whether to continue what he was planning or not. He was just there staring for a good 5 minutes, thinking of the consequences lies beyond the text message he had prepare in his mind while doing his shots.

_Can I talk to you later before we get to the dorm? Just the two of us. There's something I'd like to say._

If I don't do this, nothing will change. That's for sure. He thought, and he for sure wasn't wrong about this. Jaehwan wasn't the type to make a move first, if he also maybe or probably felt the same as the older, he would go just with the flow and see what would happen next. Given the fact that he never knew the truth about the older, even though it was pretty obvious, he wanted everything sure. So instead of doing the first move, he had taken the route of waiting.

But Minhyun was the total opposite. He was the type to take the initiative out of everything. He suggested this and that, volunteered to somewhere for the benefit of others, the first one to assist their leader hyung, the first one to talk to if he noticed something was wrong. He would be the first one to wake up in the morning, along with Jisung, to wake up the not-so-morning-person/s, namely, Lee Daehwi, Ong Sungwoo and Kang Daniel. He was the responsible one, and everyone knew, indeed, the father of the group.

This moment itself had tested Minhyun's courage and for him he had never felt as frustrated as this before over a text message. He would check the spelling of his text, the grammar, if he was being too formal or casual, even the commas and the periods. He asked himself to calm down and hey, it was just a simple text message to ask if he they could talk later or what. But god, Minhyun had taken all his time reviewing the message from first letter to the last. 

"Minhyunnie?" Until there was a voice from his side that snapped him out dragging him back to the real world. "You done?" 

"Ah hyung," he called back, putting his phone quickly in his pocket as he pressed the lock key, leaving the message unsent. 

 "I had finished my turn, and the manager already called us. We should go?"  Jisung informed him as he followed behind. Jaehwan, from the opposite side of the room had approached them and automatically linked arms with Jisung. 

 "Hyung, my ice cream." He said pouting. He requested it earlier when the the leader had told them they would treat them an ice cream after the shoot.

 "You ask Daniel, he snatched it right away from me when he saw I got you a strawberry flavored one."

 "That's unfair hyung!" He claimed as he cling as bit more, pulling the older's arm down.

 "I told him that it was for you because you said you like strawberry ones." He explained and the younger nodded many times in agreement. "And I got him cookies and cream, because he requested for it."

 "But why did he get mine?" His pouting intensifies, showering more aegyo. 

 "He said he didn't know that the strawberry ones are available and he said that you would be happy to trade it with him then he ran off."

 "Damn you, Daniel. My strawberry ice cream. I was looking forward to it earlier. I was wondering I still haven't gotten mine and Daehwi kept on insisting me the cookies and cream one." 

 "Sorry, Jaehwannie. I'll control the wild peach next time okay?"

He nodded as he went ahead first, walking too fast while punching his fists together. You could hear "You'll pay for this Daniel," on loop, chanting as if he was on a ritual to end Kang Daniel.

 "Ah Minhyunnie, yours still on the cooler. I got you melon."

 "Oh, thanks hyung. Anything's fine with me." He beamed and walked a little faster to catch up on Jisung, replacing Jaehwan. 

 "Aye, I know you like melon." He waited for Minhyun and put his arms on him while they walked together out of the building. "Come on."

  

[Minhyun] 

 

It was now my turn for shower but Jaehwan still haven't had his so I glanced up on his bed to check if he was there waiting. I was ready to give up being the first one between us to shower, but it was empty, and I wondered where he was so I went out to check him in the living room. I saw him there on the couch with his phone. I observed him for a moment being so smiley, and would scratch the corner of his nose every after small giggles. He then stood up and went straight to the entrance to grab his shoes. 

 "Going out?" I asked and pretended I just got there with towels hanging on my shoulders, ready to shower at any moment.

 "Oh hyung," he turned to look at the voice, pushing one foot into the shoe. "Yeah. I'm meeting up with Sewoon, gonna catch up with him a bit." I didn't even need to actually tell him why but it was a common thing, a given, like a buy one take one thing that always comes together - A yes or no, and the reason.

 "This late? You told the manager about it?" 

 "Yup, he's dropping me off at the cafe." He informed as he looked at his phone to check the time. "He should be here by now."

 "What cafe? Is it safe for you guys to hang out there?"

 "It's near the station, but don't worry hyung. Sewoon said it's a private cafe and he mostly knows most of the staff because he hangs out there all the time." 

 "I see, bring your jacket then." I suggested, seeing him just in a shirt worried me. Even though it was not yet winter but winds during end of summer could be a bit chilly. "Hold on, let me get it for you." 

 "There's a jacket on the corner of my bed, hyung!" I could hear him shouting as I ran to our room to get the jacket.

 

 

"Come on, wear this." I moved to his back and spread the jacket to assist him. His shoulders vibrating and I could hear low giggles as he threw his arms back trying to find the entrance of the sleeve. 

"You're like my mom, hyung." He laughed now turning back to face me to zipped up his jacket. 

"Okay I'm your mom, I got it already. But is there any other role for me? Jisung-hyung's the Mom, right?"

He paused. For a while he thought and say, "a _boyfriend_?"

I was shocked for a moment but managed to get hold of myself. I could feel the heat coming up to my face. Oh god my ears are red for sure. 

"So you'd like me to be your boyfriend then?" I said on the outside, and a small smirk to complement. But me, being as calm as this was of course just a front. Indeed, I have mastered the art of pretending. Thanks to you Jaehwan. 

"Who wouldn't want a Hwang Minhyun as their boyfriend?" He laughed as he reached for the doorknob. "Anyways hyung, I'll be going now." 

 A boyfriend, huh... 

 

-

 

"What's up with that long sigh, hyung?" Ong popped his head from the upper bunk bed, checking up on Jisung who just made a very long sigh. His voice was low, careful not to wake up the sleeping Daniel, but loud enough for his Jisung-hyung to hear.

"Those two seriously." He made a sigh once again closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. He rested his head on his fluffy pillow before he groaned in exasperation. 

 "Those two...?"

 "Minhyun and Jaehwan." Eyes still closed but he finally opened it after faces of two appeared in his head and he tried to shake it off.

 "What happened? Did they actually already declare their love for each other." Curious Ong chuckled, a bit confident with his prediction. 

 "Actually no. Total opposite." Ong dramatically gasped, but at the same time it wasn't that strange for his Hyung to say it like that. He completely understood the whole situation considering it was about Minhyun and Jaehwan, whom he knew their personalities really well.

 "How boring..." he commented as he went his back on pillow. "Why can't they just be honest with themselves. It's really obvious though."

 "I don't know with those two. They're super close, but there's certainly a wall between them." Jisung again sighed, for the third time. This issue also had been stressing him out as he kept on thinking on how he could help or if he would just gonna let those two on their own.

"Hyung,"

"What?" 

He grinned at ceiling, and eyes sparkling in the dark room. "I have a plan."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and.... i still don't know when I can update for the next chapter, but i'm working on it!  
> Thank you !


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